Carotid comfort control jacket

ABSTRACT

A carotid comfort control jacket keeps the wearer cool or warm during outside sporting events, for example. The jacket also can be used to enhance patient comfort during surgery or recovery. Treatment of various medical conditions can be carried out using the jacket. The jacket preferably is reusable and constructed of a waterproof inner lining and a soft outer cover. The outer cover can be made of various materials and in various colors. Filler caps or fittings are provided to fill the jacket inner liner with cooling fluid. Also included is a flow-through configuration.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/309,177, filed Dec. 4, 2002, and U.S. provisional application No. 60/334,936, filed Dec. 4, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a comfort control garment, particularly a wearable jacket for cooling or warming the wearer.

2. Brief Description of the Related Art

The carotid artery supplies blood to the head and neck. The left common carotid artery branches directly off the aortic arch. The right common carotid artery branches off the brachiocephalic artery. Cooling or warming the blood flowing through the carotid could be vital to providing comfort to individuals experiencing excessive over heating or cooling endured as the result of environmental, surgical, or physiological conditions.

Many environmental, surgical, and physiologic conditions can cause elevated or reduced body temperatures. Such conditions can cause discomfort and dehydration, nausea, dizziness, and fainting spells, among other unhealthy physical signs and potentially dangerous symptoms. A variety of industries and climates inflict uncomfortably and, at times, intolerably high temperatures upon persons. For example, heat sources in nuclear plants and foundries produce heat capable of driving temperatures in such plants up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Conditions resulting from heat stress in such environments can increase risk of significant mistakes in judgment, absenteeism, and down time. Weather conditions experienced while engaged in outdoor activities similarly can have a deleterious biophysical effect. During surgery, anesthesia and reduced blood flow can cause harmful drops in body temperature. Also, during recovery, patient comfort can be enhanced by providing cooling or warming to areas of the patient's body.

In addition, many physiological disorders and conditions are accompanied by elevations or reductions of body temperature, some of which include multiple sclerosis, trauma patients suffering injury to the spinal cord or brain, and patients with burns, various local, regional or systemic viral or bacterial infections, and other physiological disorders and condition which can benefit from therapeutic body-temperature maintenance. Further, workers in many industries are required to wear layers of protective clothing to protect against pollutants such as asbestos fibers and radiologic contamination in nuclear plants, which may cause elevation of temperatures and loss of body fluids.

Various garments for cooling the body are known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,625 to Steele et al., for example, discloses a wearable vest having front and back torso-covering panels with pockets that receive gel cooling packs. The front and back panels undesirably add weight to the garment, and the vest does not extend upward toward or around the neck, so that cooling of the carotids and neck is not maximized. Further, the vest is limited to cooling using self-contained, gel cooling packs, and hence is not readily rechargeable once the cooling packs have warmed to ambient temperature.

Accordingly, an easily wearable, reusable garment is needed that provides cooling or warming to the area of the carotid arteries, and that can be readily recharged with the temperature-control fluid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a reusable carotid comfort control jacket that is easily wearable and keeps the wearer cool or warm. The jacket is worn on the front of the torso, and provides transfer surfaces to the areas of the carotid arteries. The jacket preferably includes a liner constructed of a flexible, waterproof material, which is insulated by a soft outer cover. The outer cover can be made of various materials and in various colors.

In an exemplary embodiment, filler caps are provided to fill the jacket inner liner with a temperature-control material. For cooling, water or ice can be used. For warming, a warmed fluid—heated water for example—can be added. In another exemplification, the jacket is provided in a flow-through configuration. The temperature control material is pumped through the jacket. The temperature-control material can be at least partially fluid and pumped through the jacket batch-wise, pulsed, or continuously. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an anterior view of a comfort control jacket being worn according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a lateral view of the comfort control jacket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a posterior view of the comfort control jacket of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a carotid comfort control jacket 2 according to the present invention is shown. Jacket 2 is constructed of a waterproof liner. The liner preferably is flexible and arranged as a fluid container. A coolant can be frozen or chilled to keep the wearer cool. Alternatively, the fluid container can be filled with a fluid to above body-temperature to offset a body-temperature reducing situation. A body-temperature material also could be used to advantage in maintaining a patient's temperature. Baffles and other fluid-control features can be incorporated within the liquid container. A cover constructed from a soft material such as cotton is provided over the liner for the comfort of the wearer. In addition, the cover preferably is insulated to protect the comfort control material enclosed within the liner from ambient conditions and the user's body.

In this regard an insulation layer (not shown) extends about the entire jacket to reduce heat transfer to the liner from ambient air and the user. A preferred insulation layer contains a laminate operating by means of reflection from the metallic film. The layer of insulation on the inside surface of the jacket, adjacent the user's torso, prevents excessive initial cooling or warming of the wearer, such that a more even effect is provided over a longer period of time.

The jacket can cover at least the front of the wearer's torso overlying and/or adjacent the area of the carotid arteries. This portion of the jacket rests on the front of the patient's upper chest and can cover at least a portion of the patient's neck to provide comfort control to the area of the carotid arteries. Although pictured as covering substantially the entire front of the patient's torso, the jacket configuration is not so limited. A jacket with a shorter or otherwise varied configuration also is envisioned. A yoke of the jacket 6 loops around the wearer's neck. Preferably, the neck yoke is continuous with the inner liner, thereby providing temperature stabilization to the front of the shoulders and the back of the neck.

The jacket is shown open-backed and in a sleeveless style for ease of wearing over or under other garments or surgical drapes, for example. Alternatively, short or long sleeves could be added to the garment, for instance. The outer cover can be provided in various colors or with insignia as befits the intended use or designation of the jacket.

The jacket is donned over the wearer's head and drapes along the front of the wearer. Fabric straps 8 are provided to secure the jacket in place on the wearer. Additional strapping 10 can be provided to adjust the neck opening. The straps can be held in place using hook and loop fasteners. Other fastenings could be used, as are known in the art.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the jacket is filled with a comfort control material through recloseable filler caps 4. Filler caps 4 are removed to provide access inside the jacket liner. The filler caps can utilize various known water-tight closure mechanisms, including screw threads, snap fit, friction plugs, etc. Once the jacket has been filled with the comfort control material, the filler caps are replaced and the jacket is ready either for temporary storage, transportation, freezing/cooling/heating, or immediate use, depending on the comfort control material employed.

In an exemplary alternative, the jacket is provided with fittings on or in place of filler caps 4. The fittings can be used to fill the jacket instead of opening the filler caps described above. Accordingly, the jacket could be provided without the filler caps. The fittings also can be used in a flow-through configuration of the jacket, whereby a patient can be provided with a continually-renewed supply of comfort control material that is pumped through the jacket. In such a configuration, a comfort control fluid would flow in one fitting and out the other, for example. Multiple inlet and oudet fittings could be provided, along with control valves. The jacket can be supplied with both filler caps and fittings for flexibility of use and for ease of cleaning.

The embodiments described above are not intended as limiting. For example, rather than cooling or warming a patient, a treatment or therapy could involve alternate, and perhaps repeated, application of cooling followed by warming, or warming followed by cooling. In addition, configurations effective for applying comfort control to other mammals are contemplated by the invention.

Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims. 

1. A comfort control jacket comprising: a fluid-fillable liner hung around a user's neck to cover at least a portion of the front of a user's torso; a connector arranged and configured to extend around the back of the user's torso to releasably secure the liner; and at least one opening providing access into the liner arranged and configured for filling the liner.
 2. The comfort control jacket of claim 1, wherein the comfort control material is water.
 3. The comfort control jacket of claim 2, wherein the water is frozen.
 4. The comfort control jacket of claim 1, wherein the fluid-fillable liner extends around the user's neck.
 5. The comfort control jacket of claim 1, further comprising an insulative cover surrounding the liner.
 6. The comfort control jacket of claim 1, wherein the jacket features an open back.
 7. The comfort control jacket of claim 1, wherein the opening is recloseable.
 8. A method of controlling human body temperature using a open-backed carotid comfort control jacket including a fluid fillable liner, the method comprising the steps of: filling the liner with a liquid; cooling or warming the liquid inside the liner; and wearing the jacket.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the liquid is water.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of emptying warmed water from the liner, and refilling the liner with crushed or cubed ice.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of wearing the jacket includes donning the jacket over the user's head, the jacket hanging around the neck of the user and covering the front of the user's torso.
 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of securing the jacket to the torso with at least one strap removably attached to the jacket and provided around the back of the user's torso.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the jacket further comprises fittings, and the comfort control material is pumped into the jacket.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the comfort control materials are pumped through the jacket in a continuous, pulsed, or batched flow, or combinations of flows. 